The Pseudopath are an advanced race of ancient creatures created by the Enlightened Ones. Once a powerful empire, a war with their own creators has left their empire a fraction of what it once was, with most of their worldweb shut down and their leader in hibernation. They occupy the eastern end of Mirus, guarding their dormant worlds and destroying all who approach. However, rrecent event have opened the possibility of their leader awakening and reconnecting the worldweb, an event that would almost certainly lead to countless deaths...
History[]
Creation[]
The Pseudopath were created by the Enlightened Ones as a project to cross the organic and synthetic, a process that created beings with organic bodies and computerized minds. They were supposed to be mindless drones, nothing more than tools and workers. But their leader, a mainframe called the Monolith, began to show signs of sentience. Many Enlightened Ones were accused of sabotage and conspiracy, and were exiled. Eventually, the Pseudopath were subjected to a mass extermination. Believing they had begun their campaign before the Pseudopath could become a threat, the Multus armies began to destroy every Pseudopath they came across. Lord Charron'kun, warmaster of the Multus armies, led the campaign. Kossi'Valicar, known vanquisher of the Zarbanian Imperium, protested. He claimed it was good that their creations were thinking for themselves, and could be used as guardians of their other fledgling creations. Charron'kun would not listen, and continued his genocide.
But the Pseudopath had had enough. The slaughter had awakened a survival instinct within the Monolith, and it ordered its subjects to take up arms. The massacre began, but this time it was directed towards the Multus. Most of Charron'kun's advance armies, expecting to fight mindless creatures that could not fight back, were destroyed almost instantly. Many of the Multus creations were caught in the crossfire, and the Pseudopath destroyed entire worlds of life, making many Multus creations extinct forever. This enraged the general community, and many called for the eradication of the Pseudopath. Kossi and his brother Pridar led the next assault. The sheer might of the Enlightened Ones crushed a large portion of the Pseudopath armies and nearly led to the destruction of their offensive armies. What the Enlightened Ones believed the Monolith could not have calculated was Charron'kun leading an attack directly on the worldweb while the offensive forces were busy fighting Kossi and Pridar. But they were wrong. The Monolith had indeed calculated it, and had prepared.
As the Multus forces began their attack on the worldweb, the Monolith released it's secret weapon: the Horde of the Dead. An army of reanimated Pseudopath warriors overwhelmed most of the assault armies and slaughtered them. Finally, it took the entire Multus army attacking the worldweb to allow Charron'kun the opportunity to besiege the Monolith directly. He shut it down with a massive energy pulse deployed inside it's main core. The collapse of the Monolith shut down the worldweb. All Pseudopath on those worlds were forced to retreat underground and enter hibernation. Despite being led by warlords, they were extremely weakened by the loss of their mainframe. Believing the threat ended, the Multus left the Pseudopath to their fate. The various warlords still awake were able to move the remaining worlds to the eastern ends of Mirus where they could hide. When the Monolith shut down, it locked out the Pseudopaths' emotions, believing it to be for the best.
Recovery[]
After their defeat, the still-awake Pseudopath reorganized themselves into a royal house-system, led by one dominant one. Unknown to most, the leading warlords, now called Archons, were still able to communicate with the Monolith, which was still somewhat active. Though still active, the Monolith could not control much. Eventually, the Pseudopath detected the Multus' destruction and began mobilizing again. The dominant Archon, Vertigo, began reconnecting worlds to the web, one at a time. Meanwhile, the Monolith began energizing once again, but was still unable to fully awaken yet. Later, the Pseudopath detected a new empire entering their territory. The Scythe of Glory, who were retreating from a failed attack on the Great Mirusian Church of Spode. Vertigo confronted them with a large fleet, as the Monolith desired them as allies. The Scythe leader Dread accepted Vertigo's offer. Vertigo departed, confident that his empire ould expand once again.
Biology[]
The Pseudopath themselves are mostly organic creatures with supercomputer-like minds. They are more durable than pure organics, and less vulnerable to anti-mechanical weapons than cyborgs or robots. There are many types of Pseudopath and each type has several unit types, as well as strengths and weaknesses. Despite their difference, they all work together as a cohesive strike force. All Pseudopath are individuals, though they can connect to both each other and their mainframe. Since their species-wide mainframe was shut down upon the defeat of the Monolith, most Psuedopath now follow the mainframe of their royal houses and Archons. Despite being partly synthetic, Pseudopath are self-replicating and capable of both healing and adapting. Each individual has the processing power of a supercomputer, but they combine power when they link to each other. A squad is much smarter than an individual. Though the royal houses may seem almost incomprehensibly intelligent, when the Mainframe was active they were so intelligent that even the Enlightened Ones to barely beat them. The reactivation of the Mainframe could present a monstrous threat to the UAE.
There are three types of Pseudopath, representing the individual's age. Some Pseudopath never grow once they've reached a certain stage, but most grow throughout their lives. It can take anywhere from a few months to several years to change Type, or to become a different form in the same Type class.
- Type One - These are young Pseudopath, just hatched from their nanobitic wombs. They spend a relatively short time in this Type before growing into a Type-Two. These Pseudopath are usually under or around seven feet and lack their second pair of arms. Some of these Pseudopath's growths can be stunted if their superiors so wish.
- Type Two - These Pseudopath have grown their second pair of arms and have reached at least eight feet in height. Their faces have also fully grown out, though the spines on the tops of their heads continue to grow. These Pseudopath make up some of the race's most formidable fighters, much more so that Type-Ones.
- Type Three - The oldest of the Pseudopath race, most Type-Threes have been specifically made to grow this way. Unlike the other Types, Threes can very in size enormously, with the smallest being from fifteen to twenty feet tall and the largest getting from one to three hundred feet in height. Some varieties continue growing throughout their lives, though since the race has been in hibernation for millennial it is unknown how big they can actually get.
Culture[]
The Pseudopath, despite being organic supercomputers, have a diverse culture. There are no books or films, as with the Mainframe they had no need of them. Their architecture, which logic would suggest is barren and featureless, is actually very detailed and aesthetic. The Pseduopaths' society was based on royalty even before the shutting down of the mainframe. Warlords would compete with each other for dominance and position, and the armies were organized similar to Roman legions. The royalty culture has maintained itself throughout their existence, and has become even more intricate after the collapse of the mainframe. Despite the varied culture, the Pseudopath are emotionless, running on logic alone. They also refer to themselves as "we", rather than "I".
Royal Houses[]
Pseudopath royal houses are each led by an Archon, the most powerful individual in the house. The Archon is both a military and cultural leader, but not a religious one due to a lack of such things with the Pseudopaths' culture. The position is fairly stable, as the Archon tends to be the most powerful or intelligent member of that particular society. The houses each have their own representative color, a singular one that is displayed throughout their society. The members of that house are colored the same as their house's representative color. Each house tends to have it's own position and relations with the others, with some being more dominant than others.
- Title - Monolith's Chosen
- Archon - Vertigo
- Color - Dark Red
- Rank - Highest
- Base Worldship - Pseudopath Tombworld
- Special Unit - Pseudogiants
- Primary Enemy - Formerly the Greater Mirusian Church of Spode, later the Proditkar and the Zarbania Powers
- Note - Military/Fleet leaders
- Title - Monolith's Watch
- Archon - Kepramidus
- Color - Gold
- Rank - Second Highest
- Base Worldship - Monarch's Outlook
- Special unit - Pseudodirector
- Primary Enemy - Formerly the Volver Empire, later the Crimson Splinter
- Note - Technically part of the House of Disembowelment, used to control the other Houses
Military[]
Though the many royal houses are different, the Pseudopath's army is but one. Each unit has a dedicated role which it carries out with absolute effectiveness. Each royal house has a special unit that, rather than hoard it for themselves, provides the main Pseudopath army with. This helps prevent the weakening of the army because of internal feuds or grudges. The varied number of units gives the Pseudopath a definite advantage over some others due to their troops able to cover a wide range of situations. Some are more organic than synthetic, others reversed. They utilize many different forms of weapons and are constantly evolving. Even their technology is not stagnant. It was at one point theorized by the reawakened Multus Esse that, were the Monolith ever to regain full strength, their evolutionary rate would increase a hundredfold.
Ground Units[]
- Use - Basic Combat Unit
- Weapons - Plasma Pistol, Sticky Detonator
- Defenses - Light Armor
- Size - Six Ft.
- Use - Tracking and Intercepting
- Weapons - Poison Darts, Flechettes, Claws
- Defenses - Speed
- Size - Two Ft.
- Use - Stealth and Assassination
- Weapons - Claws, teeth
- Defenses - Intelligence
- Size - Seven Ft.
- Use - Hit-and-run, ambush
- Weapons - SMGs, Tentacles
- Defenses - Speed, light armor
- Size - Seven ft.
- Use - Basic Combat Unit
- Weapons - Plasma Rifle, Flechette Mines
- Defenses - Light Armor
- Size - Seven ft.
- Use - Sabotage of Field Equipment
- Weapons - Omni-Laser
- Defenses - Agility
- Size - Seven Ft.
- Use - Basic Combat Unit
- Weapons - Plasma Rifle, Nanobombs
- Defenses - Armor, Shields
- Size - Eight Ft.
- Use - Field Commanders
- Weapons - Phase Rifle, Warpshot, Nanobombs
- Defenses - Armor, Shields
- Size - Nine Ft.
Pseudocaptains are experienced and middle-aged Pseudopath commanders that specialize in leadingtheir brethren into battle while laying down heavy gunfire. Their primary weapon is a Phase Rifle, an extremely dangerous weapon of intricate Pseudopath design. The projectiles, wrapped in a phasic envelope, will phase out of existence when they near a solid object, only to reappear when out of it. This also works with shields and armor, allowing the weapon to bypass all defenses and appear right inside its foes' vitals. This makes an assault by Pseudocaptains almost unstoppable until they are down.
Their secondary weapon is the Warpshot. It is a rifle that opens in a spiral to reveal a heavy battery of explosive plasma launchers. The weapon can bombard an open area with superheated plasma bombs that can melt most material. Foes who face this weapon have learned to take cover behind objects that are very heat-resistant, and to pack precision weapons to bring the Captain down. This is not an easy task with the Captain's thick armor layers. Captains also carry Nanobombs for antipersonnel work.
- Use - Elite Combat Units
- Weapons - Phase Rifle, Plasma Scimitar, Nanobombs
- Defenses - Heavy Armor, Heavy Shields
- Size - Ten Ft.
- Use - Elite Combat Units, Bodyguards
- Weapons - Phase Repeater, Phasic Sword, Trackerbombs
- Defenses - Heavy Armor and Shielding
- Size - Twelve Ft.
Pseudofanatics are very powerful warriors, second only to Pseudodirectors and the Archons themselves. Battle-hardened Pseudopath with years of experience, Fanatics are capable of cutting down entire enemy companies if they do not deal with the creature in time. They are armed with Phase Repeaters, powerful heavy machine gun versions of the smaller Phase Rifles. This weapon can penetrate tanks and other armored vehicles and kill the pilots inside. A Phase Repeater is one of the pinnacles of Pseudopath small arms. They also carry Trackerbombs instead of Nanobombs. These weapons, if missed when thrown at a target, actually get up and hover after their foe at a fast speed, determined to stick it before exploding.
But these are not the Fanatics' primary weapons. Their preferred weapon is a Phasic Sword. This sword is very similar to the Pseudozealots' Plasma Swords, with one key difference: the Phasic Sword can phase out of existence in order to pass through armor, shields, or hard surfaces. Thus a strike from a Phasic Sword is almost always fatal. It is also a dead win in swordfights, as it can pass through any other sword material, even Alphorium. This makes the Pseudofanatics extremely lethal foes. Not even Draconian Exterminators are a match for them.
- Use - Command Units
- Weapons - Phasic Chaingun, Phasic Axe, Pinch Rockets.
- Defenses - Heavy Armor and Shielding
- Size - Fifteen Ft.
Pseudodirectors are the most powerful second-stage Pseudopath other than the Archons. Indeed, they are well on their way to being able to take on an existing Archon for the position. Armed with devastating weapons, a Director on the battlefield can make all the difference. Their primary weapon is a Phasic Chaingun. The most powerful Pseudopath projectile weapon, the Phasic Chaingun can pass through entire buildings of solid metal, shred the targets inside, and go right through the other side. They also come equipped with a Phasic Axe that can pass through any known material.
Their secondary weapon is a Pinch Rocket Launcher. The weapon fires rockets that are more of a pinch in the dimensional fold than actual projectiles. The weapons don't do any explosive damage: rather, they deliver a sheer kinetic punch capable of flinging tanks like leaves in the wind. It is unknown how the weapon is powered as, even with the recent UAE-Pseudopath alliance, they still refuse to share their technology.
- Use - Main Heavy Unit
- Weapons - Arms, teeth, weight
- Defenses - Thick hide and bones
- Size - Twenty Ft.
Ships[]
Relations[]
Not yet
Themes[]
Trivia[]
- Based on the Fallen, Vex, and Hive from Destiny, and the Geth from Mass Effect.
- Their name comes from some of the creatures from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.